Saturday, July 9, 2011

Race #135 - Coon Dog Day 5k - Saluda, NC - 07/09/11

There weren't a lot of races around the Charlotte area this weekend, so I was excited when I found the Coon Dog Day 5k in Saluda, North Carolina. This sounded like it should be a lot of fun and it definitely met our expectations. This was the 48th annual Coon Dog Day celebration and I think the 5k race has been a part of the festivities for much of that time.

Parking was a little bit of an issue but it was handled nicely by the volunteers. The race started and finished about a half mile from the parking lot so we walked to the starting line, but that's not too big of a deal of you're coming out to run a road race anyway.

I liked the course but it was a challenging one. The first mile of the race was almost entirely uphill, followed by rolling hills in the second mile and, mercifully, a nice downhill finish in the last mile.

I'm now in my fourth week of Weight Watchers and I'm not positive what my "official" weight is (my official weekly weigh-in is on Sunday morning) but I've stuck with the WW program and feel possibly better than I've ever felt in my three years of running. I think I've lost about 1 pound this week, and if that's correct that's a total weight loss of about 8 pounds since I began back on the WW program four weeks ago. Along with the weight loss I'm noticing a real improvement in the way I feel during the races. My time was around 21:25 (haven't seen the official results), which was first in the 55+ age group. I'd like to be under 21 minutes right now and I think I will be on a flatter course, but with all of the hills in Saluda it's probably about right.

We don't know many people in this area but it was good to see running buddy Drew Walker, who drove his Stickermobile from Greenwood, South Carolina, for the race. Drew runs more races than just about anybody I know -- 71 last year alone!

It was great also to meet Fred Reinhard, a 66-year-old runner from Sullivans Island, South Carolina. Fred is not only a nice guy but one of the fastest veteran runners anywhere and a South Carolina state age-group record holder. Just a couple months ago he placed 3rd in the 65-69 age group at the Cooper River Bridge Run (he's been 1st several times in the past) with a time of 43:23, so he's still flying high.

The awards ceremony was held downtown on the main stage, which was a couple miles away from the main parking area at the Saluda Mountain Jamboree. Access was easy back and forth though with a free tram ride both ways.

It was a little disappointing that the oldest age group was 55+. With so many older runners competing there really should be 5-year age groups up to age 80, or at the very least 70. I won't complain a lot since I managed to squeak out a win in the 55+ age group, but I'm sure there were some 70+ guys who weren't thrilled about competing with us young whippersnappers.

The T-shirts were great for this race -- one of the few 5k shirts that I'll actually wear. They're high quality tech shirts with a nice design, and I just love the sound of the Coon Dog Day 5k!